Mamoru Kodai (2199)
Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, Earth[http://yamato2199.net/character_mamoru.html Official Space Battleship Yamato 2199 website character data] | death_place = 2199, Iscandar (Physical body) 2199, Yamato BBY-01 (Consciousness) | placeofburial = Graveyard in vicinity of Iscandarian royal palace | placeofburial_label = | placeofburial_coordinates = | nickname = | birth_name = | allegiance = Earth Federation | branch = United Nations Cosmo Navy | serviceyears= | rank=Lieutenant Commander | servicenumber = | unit = | commands=''Yukikaze'' DDS-117 | battles=First Battle of Pluto (Operation M) | battles_label = | awards= |relations=Susumu Kodai (brother) Noriko Kodai (mother) Go Kodai (father) Maki Kodai (aunt) Yoshio Kodai (uncle)[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=13776 Anime News Network article on Space Battleship Yamato 2199] |laterwork= |portrayedby=Mitsuru Miyamoto }} :This article describes Mamoru Kodai as depicted in ''Space Battleship Yamato 2199. For his counterpart in the original Space Battleship Yamato, Yamato: The New Voyage, and Be Forever Yamato, see Mamoru Kodai (OS). For the similarly named character in the live action film, see Mamoru Kodai (live action film).'' Mamoru Kodai is an officer in the United Nations Cosmo Navy. Kodai commanded the destroyer ''Yukikaze'' at the disastrous First Battle of Pluto. Following the battle, he was brought to the planet Iscandar, where he spent the last months of his life in the company of Queen Starsha Iscandar. History Early Life Mamoru Kodai's family was killed by a planet bomb launched by the Great Garmillas Empire in or after 2193, leaving only one surviving relative, his younger brother Susumu. Sometime before or after this loss, Mamoru gave Susumu a harmonica that their father had once given to him ("The Whisper of the Witch", "Out of the Forest of Memory"). Kodai entered the National Space Defense Academy around the start of the Garmillas-Earth War. As a cadet, he became best friends with his scientifically oriented classmate, Shiro Sanada, and began to date Sanada's younger laboratory assistant, Kaoru Niimi, after a tenuous start. Kodai followed a different path in the United Nations Cosmo Navy from Sanada and Niimi, but he remained close to both of them. During his time in the Cosmo Navy, he was assigned as a weapons officer to the space battleship Kirishima under Admiral Juzo Okita and earned the admiral's respect. Under Okita's command, he fought at the Second Battle of Mars. By late 2198, Lieutenant Commander Kodai was granted command of the destroyer Yukikaze, and was scheduled to lead the tactical division on a new interstellar ship under construction, the space battleship Yamato. On the eve of the UNCN fleet's departure to engage enemy forces at Pluto, he and Niimi ended their relationship, although he continued to be fond of her. Kodai met with Sanada one last time immediately before leaving, and refused Sanada's attempt to return a book of poetry by Chuya Nakahara that Kodai had loaned him years earlier ("Messenger of Iscandar", "Toward a Sea of Stars", "Out of the Forest of Memory", Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark, "Memories of the Blue Planet"). Pluto :For more details, see First Battle of Pluto The First Fleet arrives at Pluto on January 17, 2199, with Kodai's Yukikaze taking the forward position and reporting on the disposition of Garmillas forces. Dozens of enemy ships approach and open fire, and within moments the fleet is torn apart by the aliens' superior numbers and technology. Kodai realizes the nature of the situation and orders his destroyer to reverse course. Yukikaze spots one Garmillas vessel closing in for a kill on Admiral Okita's Kirishima, and intervenes to destroy it before it can strike. Okita signals for the only two surviving ships--his own and Kodai's--to retreat. Instead, Kodai holds his destroyer's position while Kirishima continues on course. The admiral opens a channel and demands that Yukikaze join them. Kodai refuses, arguing that Okita is too valuable to the future of Earth and that at least one ship must survive to keep protecting the homeworld. Okita tells him that the true goal of the battle has already been accomplished and that Earth needs Kodai just as much, but the young lieutenant commander politely rebuffs him. As the destroyer prepares for the coming Garmillas onslaught, Kodai is momentarily stunned as his bridge crew, including first officer Eiji Ishizu, begins to sing joyfully, but he gives the order to fly toward the enemy. Yukikaze wildly dodges weapons fire and takes out at least one more Garmillan vessel. Kirishima escapes just before a large explosion rips through Kodai's destroyer ("Messenger of Iscandar"). Final Months on Iscandar, and Beyond Although Yukikaze's damage is severe, a portion of the crew survives and they make their way toward the inner solar system. The destroyer eventually impacts the icy surface of the moon Enceladus. The wreck and Kodai's personal sidearm are discovered weeks later by his younger brother--who is now serving aboard Yamato in the position that had been intended for the elder brother--and it is assumed that all aboard had died. In truth, Garmillan forces had located Yukikaze, captured Kodai, Ishizu, and possibly others, and sent them on a prison transport to the Garmillas homeworld one hundred sixty-eight thousand light years away to be used as biological research specimens. The transport suffers mechanical problems as it nears its destination, and crashes into an open field on the nearby planet of Iscandar. The crash kills everyone aboard except Kodai ("Gravestone on a Frozen Field", "The Distant Promised Land", "Memories of the Blue Planet"). Queen Starsha Iscandar keeps him safe on Iscandar and is able to temporarily treat his injuries from the crash. The two grow closer over the next few months. Starsha finds a companion with whom she can be emotionally open, and Mamoru comes to understand that peace with the alien enemy Garmillas is possible. They begin a romantic relationship, and conceive a child. Starsha's medical treatment fails, though, and Mamoru's life fades. He records a holographic message for the crew of Yamato that he hopes are on their way to Iscandar, and concludes it with a personal greeting to his younger brother Susumu. As he finally dies, Iscandarian technology is used to preserve his consciousness as pure energy ("The Distant Promised Land"). Yamato arrives shortly thereafter, and upon learning about Yamato's troubling use of technology she had given to Earth, she struggles with whether she should help them any further. She communicates with the consciousness of Mamoru and shows him her despair over the possibility of something worse happening. Starsha makes her decision, and the following morning, she comes to Yamato with the Cosmo Reverse System that will restore Earth's ruined environment--with Mamoru's consciousness embedded in and driving the device. Starsha does not inform the humans about this fact, but she walks privately with Susumu to his brother's grave and gives him Mamoru's last message ("The Distant Promised Land", "Memories of the Blue Planet"). During the long voyage home, the Yamato crew senses Mamoru's presence, but only on the margins of awareness, as reflections or as a supposed ghost wandering the decks. Eventually, Yamato's chief science officer, Shiro Sanada, puts the pieces together and concludes that his best friend is somehow a part of the alien device. The ship comes under a surprise attack two months after leaving Iscandar, and Susumu's new love, Yuki Mori, is fatally wounded. Mamoru sees his younger brother grieving over her body, and he self-activates the Cosmo Reverser, using the last of his energy to bring Mori back to life ("Memories of the Blue Planet"). Legacy Mamoru Kodai appears at least once to Sanada in late 2202 as part of a telepathic vision sent to the surviving crew of Yamato, urging them to continue their journey to the planet Terezart ("Bewitching - The Space Fireflies Beckon a Crisis"). Personality Mamoru Kodai is a natural leader, comfortable with command and able to take on its burdens even at a relatively young age, and motivating those who serve under him. Unlike other officers, he favors a more casual style, which he displays in his preference for wearing uniforms open and loose. He is unflinchingly dedicated to his duty, even when facing the most difficult circumstancesOfficial Space Battleship Yamato 2199 website character data ("Messenger of Iscandar", "Out of the Forest of Memory"). He is also flexible and able to adapt. Despite suffering great personal loss and the near-extinction of his people, Kodai is convinced by Queen Starsha to embrace the potential for mutual understanding and cooperation with Earth's alien enemies. His message of trust deeply resonates with the crew of Yamato after his passing ("The Distant Promised Land", Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark). Kodai is a man who operates on instinct, a trait that contrasts with the cool, calculating personality of Shiro Sanada. While he admires his friend's scientific talents and appreciates how their different approaches complement one another, Kodai encourages Sanada to explore his way of looking at the world by sharing his favorite poetry with him ("Out of the Forest of Memory"). Guiding and supporting his younger brother Susumu continues to be an important part of Mamoru's life until his final days ("The Whisper of the Witch", "The Distant Promised Land"). Notes *English subtitles in "Messenger of Iscandar" mistakenly give Kodai's rank as major, which is the army equivalent of the naval rank of lieutenant commander. References Gallery Image:Susumu and Mamoru Vision.png|From father to elder brother to younger brother. Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:UNCN Personnel Category:Deceased